Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In an oven-proof skillet, add sweet potatoes with 2 tablespoons water and cook until almost fork tender, about 15 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon water to skillet as needed in order to speed up the cooking process. Remove sweet potatoes and set aside. Add more water, if needed, and sauté onions, mushrooms, and bell peppers until cooked through. Add spinach until wilted, then add sweet potatoes and stir. Make three small wells in veggie mixture and crack an egg into each one. Put skillet into oven and bake, about 7-8 minutes or until egg is cooked to desired doneness.

Salad:
In the dressing bowl, lightly mix together the cooked quinoa and dressing. Add in cilantro, tomatoes and the oven roasted veggies. Toss all ingredients together. Place on chilled salad bowl and enjoy.

In the U.S., only eight percent of children consume dark, leafy greens. Many children are tempted by sugary and carb-dense foods, rather than colorful produce that offers a wide variety of phytochemicals and antioxidants. In addition to helping children establish lifelong, healthy habits, the nutrients found in fruits and vegetables are essential not only for developmental health, but to fight off disease and chronic conditions too. When looking for culinary inspiration this school year, use the colors of the rainbow as a guide.

Orange/Yellow foods contain beta-carotene, alpha-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin which support healthy skin, hair and vision. It is also a phytonutrient that helps make vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is important for night vision and the vitamin C found in citrus fruits improves immune health. Yellow foods are also high in folate, supporting red blood cell functions. Cantaloupe, orange/yellow peppers, oranges, peaches, pineapples and sweet potatoes are great sources!

Greenfoods contain essential micronutrients like iron and their high fiber content lowers the glycemic index of foods eaten along with them. These foods also contain vitamin B for energy, vitamins C and E to fight off free radicals that promote disease and offer calcium for bone health. The alkaline found in green foods can also help reduce acidity. Try broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, collard greens, grapes, green beans, honeydew, kale or pears.

Blue/Purple foods have high amounts of potassium, which help oxygen flow throughout the brain and body, which can help alleviate allergies and inflammation. The most unique benefits of blue and purple food is their ability to assist in preventing urinary tract infections, fight ulcers and prevent other diseases caused by cell damage. Try beets, blueberries, eggplant, purple asparagus, purple cauliflower, red cabbage, red and purple grapes or plums.

White/Brown Healthy, white foods include those that are tan or brown on the outside and white on the inside. One of the most common cancer-fighting antioxidants in white foods is called anthoxanthin. Garlic, ginger, onions and all other allium vegetables also contain an antioxidant called allicin, shown to act as a natural antibiotic to help boost the immune system. Try bean sprouts, garlic, ginger, mushrooms, onions or tofu.

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Fold the parchment paper in half, then open up. Cut the ends of the asparagus and lay them on one half of the parchment paper. Spray unflavored cooking spray on parchment. Lay the chicken on the asparagus, sprinkle on parsley, basil and pepper. Top with tomato slices and one quick spray of unflavored cooking spray. Fold the parchment paper over the chicken, and cinch the paper together by folding it over itself along the edges. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until internal temperature of chicken reaches 165˚F/75˚C. Enjoy!

Having a meal plan with a college cafeteria with endless and bottomless options can be a recipe for disaster but you can avoid the freshman 15 by following these tips.

Plan It Out

Review all of your dining options before you settle for a specific line. If you have a better view of the offerings, you’ll be able to devise a plan so that you have a general idea of what you want your plate to look like while practicing portion control.

Eat Breakfast

Breakfast is an important meal of the day but it doesn’t mean you should head straight for the sugary cereal dispenser. Fresh fruit, yogurt or high fiber cereals with skim milk are great choices. You may feel that a caffeine boost is necessary, but when it comes to coffee, skip the cream and sugar which can add extra unnecessary calories from sugar and fat.

Quench Your Thirst

In addition to watching your caffeine intake from coffee, sodas and energy drinks, fruit juices are often high in sugar despite the “all natural” or “100% fruit juice” labels. Swap these beverages for water or Crystal Light. Use a refillable bottle and you can refill virtually anywhere on campus and help the environment by creating less plastic waste. You can even add a splash of juice or slices of citrus fruits to your water.

The Salad Bar is Your Friend

Salad bars are a great way to ensure you are getting enough veggies without the boredom. Add some lean protein like grilled salmon, chicken, tofu or hardboiled egg for a complete meal. Low fat cottage cheese can double as a creamy dressing. Skip the croutons, heavy dressings and preserved foods such as deli meats which are often very high in sodium.

Know What’s In Your Food

Most campus dining services have become more proactive about making nutritional information and ingredients readily available to diners. Avoid dishes with butter, oil, heavy cream, sugar or fat and seek out roasted, baked, steamed or broiled options instead. If ingredients are listed, they will be listed in order of predominance by weight, which mean that the ingredient that weighs the most is listed first and the last ingredient has the least amount.

Snacking Between Meals

A healthy snack eaten every 2-3 hours can stimulate your metabolism, keep your appetite suppressed and provide a boost of energy. Stash snack foods in your dorm room such as low carb crackers and rice cakes, whole fresh fruit like apples and oranges or pre-washed and cut vegetables such as carrots, celery, broccoli and cauliflower as they are easy to grab and eat on your way to class. A healthy stash in your room will also give you better options for late night snacking without the guilt.

It will take some practice, but consuming a well-balanced diet with less sugar and salt will help keep you more alert while understanding and practicing portion control will keep your weight stable through your academic career and beyond!

Jackson Clinic employee Jeannie encourages you to join the Medical Weight Loss Clinic team this Saturday, August 26th at Comerica Park in Detroit for Step OUT: Walk to Stop Diabetes hosted by the American Diabetes Association. Patients can earn a free week of Freedom by walking with us!

According to MichiganApples.com, it is almost time to start harvesting these fall favorites!

Apples are Michigan’s #1 most valuable fruit crop, with a value of over $100,000,000 annually to the apple grower.

There are over 8 million apple trees, covering 41,000 acres, on 1,000 farms throughout Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Michigan expects to harvest 18 million bushels of apples annually.

Apples are the largest fruit crop grown in Michigan. Michigan produced over 1.25 billion pounds of fruit in 2004 including apples, tart cherries, sweet cherries, blueberries, peaches, grapes, strawberries, pears and plums. Just over 60 percent of that amount was apples, which totaled 760 million pounds.

Small family farmers who operate their own orchards dominate the Michigan apple industry. According to recent statistics, 99 percent of Michigan orchards had fewer than 100 acres in apples.

Longtime favorite varieties still dominate Michigan’s orchards. The most prevalent variety remains the Red Delicious, followed closely by the Golden Delicious. The Gala or Royal Gala apple is rapidly gaining on tradition, however.

Car, foot or boat, there are a plethora of locales to visit, but during the summer, nothing beats taking in the sights on two wheels.

We have more than 1,300 miles of biking trails in Michigan, but in the “land of the hand”, here are the 5 must ride bike trails with beautiful views to take in almost any time of the year. What are your favorite Michigan locations?